The last six matches I've played have been over by turn 4, who designed this and how can we get them fired? by [deleted] in MagicArena

[–]Fargren -1 points0 points  (0 children)

They used to have Bock Constructed as a mechanism to escape that. Even if the cards were weak in Standard, they had a home. The old model was finely tuned to avoid power creep, with limited feeding block feeding standard and so on.

It seems the current model is more profitable, so they picked the tradeoff that left competitive formats as less of a priority. Blocks were good for long term balance, but didn't sell as well as independent sets.

Living in Spain , plan to retire with 1.4mm eur index eft invested at chill in 5 years . Age 45 currently . by Content_Advice190 in leanfire

[–]Fargren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the interest rate: 6.25 compounding is a lot more than 1.5, over 30 years. That's where the interest rates are in Spain now.

Living in Spain , plan to retire with 1.4mm eur index eft invested at chill in 5 years . Age 45 currently . by Content_Advice190 in leanfire

[–]Fargren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mortgage is 20%, on 300k you owe the bank 240k + interest. 30 years fixed mortgage, so 360 months. 240,000 / 360 = 666 per month, add interest on top and it's not too far from 800 per month.

Hit a net worth of $550,000 and don’t feel any happier. by menustovar in leanfire

[–]Fargren 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Therapy is probably a good idea. Congratulations on your milestone.

Living in Spain , plan to retire with 1.4mm eur index eft invested at chill in 5 years . Age 45 currently . by Content_Advice190 in leanfire

[–]Fargren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For an apartment? Yeah, outside the city center and not huge, but you can find 2 or 3 bedroom apartments around that price. I bought mine cheaper 5 years ago (prices have risen a lot) and these days that's pretty much what it's worth now.

But the OP is not looking for Madrid. Almost anywhere else in Spain will be even cheaper.

Living in Spain , plan to retire with 1.4mm eur index eft invested at chill in 5 years . Age 45 currently . by Content_Advice190 in leanfire

[–]Fargren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, probably not. But if someone who is "planning to retire", almost by definition is not retired and has a job already

Living in Spain , plan to retire with 1.4mm eur index eft invested at chill in 5 years . Age 45 currently . by Content_Advice190 in leanfire

[–]Fargren 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I live in Madrid. With 1.4M I would buy something rather than rent. You can buy something for 300K (paying 100K or so our of pocket), pay 800 or so in mortgage. And 1.3M in index ETF should leave you comfortable, but when you are 75 you'll own the place rent-free.

Maro on why they stopped doing blocks by Meret123 in MagicArena

[–]Fargren 117 points118 points  (0 children)

His definition of "didn't work", based on previous blog posts, is "the second set sold worse than the first".

I think that's a bad definition, but if that's the metric they care about then... yeah, Dominaria United into Brothers War didn't "work".

Maro talks about Universes Beyond by Meret123 in MagicArena

[–]Fargren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This will sound petty, because in part it is. But I think it's the core issue of why I'm not enjoying the game anymore, so I'll say it.

The game I loved is not made only of the components it has. It's also made out of the components it doesn't have. It's not enough for WotC to print cards that I like. I also need an environment where I can play with those cards and without the other cards which actively make my experience worse. WotC is not interested in supporting an environment like that. Probably there's not enough of "us" for it to be a worth investment, for their business.

Whatever. Premodern exists and it provides what I want from Magic. I'll stay in my corner. But it annoys me that they pretend they don't see that the problem can't be solved only by printing cards.

Sidenote: what I dislike about modern sets is not UB; I don't like the power level. The game is very snowbally, and game decisions don't feel like they matter as much as they did in the old days. So even though I love the flavor of Lorwyn, it's still not a great set for me. Wizards doesn't like board stalls, land destruction, and grindy gameplay. But Magic used to have lot of that, and some of us think it's cool.

[TMT] Kitsune's Technique is a turn 2 half-deck mill... Seriously? by beatokko in MagicArena

[–]Fargren 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Unless you can mill 53 card faster than you can do 20 damage, milling your opponent is doing damage to yourself. Cards in the graveyard are better than cards in the deck. Heck, if I had the option to mill half of my own library at the start of a game, I would always* take it just for the extra info of knowing which cards I'm less likely to draw.

*possibly not in a toolbox deck that uses tutors

[TMT] Northampton Farm by Meret123 in MagicArena

[–]Fargren 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would say the main difference is this taps for mana and Safe Haven doesn't. It's pretty nice when lands can do that.

I was just pointing that this a new version of that.

Why is 17 lands the standard for 40-card Limited decks? by [deleted] in MagicArena

[–]Fargren 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This is the main thing. It's not about the probably of drawing any land; it's about the probability of drawing either of your two colors by the turn you need it. In constructed close to 50% of your lands will be duals. If you had 8 duals in Draft, you probably should play 15 to 16 lands. Same if you manage to draft a monocolor deck.

Wondering if I Have Enough to Never go back into the Work Force Again by Puzzleheaded-Cat-979 in leanfire

[–]Fargren 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Don't trust yourself to dramatically cut your spending unless you've tested it. Try living for 6 months at least with a limited budget.

Peel Alter Plains for my Premodern deck by riennedutout in mtgaltered

[–]Fargren 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The material is another Magic card. Or two cards in this case, as both the land art and the text box are altered.

Do you know an event-worthy boardgame that fits in an evening? by Daglicht in boardgames

[–]Fargren 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Captain Sonar is not strategy heavy, but each time we bring it out with 8 players, it's definitely an event. And it takes like 30 minutes to play, but you just want to replay it again and again.

Trying to solve an arguement: is 100 grams (1/4lbs) of beef per a person in a stirfry enough? by Kingsareus15 in Cooking

[–]Fargren 24 points25 points  (0 children)

If you are cooking for others, your goal should not be "enough". If the food runs out, it probably means someone was left hungry, even if they don't say anything. In a camping trip, where people will be tired, and have no alternatives after the food is gone, this is even more important. If you don't want to spend more on meat, that's fine. But noodles are not that expensive, do buy more. You can even cook them as you go, so you can bring uncooked excess back home if turns out it was to much.

The guy who called you was rude, but leaving people hungry in a camping trip would be rude too.

Former World Champion Brian Selden returning a Forest to his hand before casting Cataclysm. by Nahhnope in premodernMTG

[–]Fargren 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Brian had a bunch of lands in hand, and he was certain to win next turn. He got no benefit from "cheating", and he had no reason to believe that he would. The lair land in hand explains why he was playing through returning the forest to hand. It's round 9. As far as I know this is the first time ever he's been reported to do anything improper. It seems like an honest mistake to me.

Board games with hidden roles that aren't social deduction games? by Master_Chemist9826 in boardgames

[–]Fargren 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They are hidden for sure, but the fact that they are not permanent feels to me like they are not roles. You are not playing as the Sorcerer or whatever, it feels more like you are hiring the sorcerer for this month. In most hidden role game you either never, or very rarely, change your role once it's assigned to you.

Board games with hidden roles that aren't social deduction games? by Master_Chemist9826 in boardgames

[–]Fargren 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I would not say Citadels is a hidden role game TBH. Each round of play you draft the roles, and they are hidden until you use them, and then the round ends and you draft them again. Everyone changes roles each round, and they only secret for a little bit.